On Monday the 18th of May at 9:00AM, in front of the Library of the Cerro Coso Community College (CCCC), the Rotary Club of China Lake’s Peace Pole was unveiled.
Photo courtesy of David Saint-Amand.
The event kicked-off with music: The Olive Tree which starts with the lyrics “Tell me white dove, where will I find the Olive tree?” Club Peace Chair Julia Morse then welcomed the assembly and provided an overview of the International Peace Pole project.
Club Peace Chair Julia Morse.
Cerro Coso Community College President and Rotarian Dr. Sean Hancock was next. He emphasized that “…this Peace Pole stands as both a hope and a call to action.”
College President Sean Hancock.
Club President Ricca then took the stage to give a history of the International Peace Poll effort, where an estimated 200,000+ peace poles have been erected across every continent.
Club President Ricca Charlon.
Finally, the sculptor, Ridgecrest City Councilman Skip Gorman, spoke on the process of conceiving, designing, and constructing the pole. Included in that was a brief recitation of how he managed to get the right wording for each of the six languages wherein the motto of the Peace Pole project is written: “May Peace Prevail On Earth.” The languages carrying this message on the pole are; English, Hebrew, Spanish, Latin, German, and Polish. Regarding this Mr. Gorman said: “So I got all the different languages from people I knew who would make sure I get it right. You can get things wrong off of Google I found out.
Councilman Skip Gorman, Peace Pole Sculptor.
There is space at the bottom of the pole to add padlocks as symbolic commitment to doing one’s part to foster peace, similar in idea to that of the Paris Pont des Arts bridge, also know as the padlock bridge, that was famous for couples attaching padlocks to the railings as a symbol of their love.
Adding the first commitment padlocks.
Councilman Gorman concluded his remarks with a ‘Thank you’ to the CCCC staff who made this installation possible. Not only did they install the pole, they created landscaping around the pole which invokes the Rotary International wheel.
The college installation crew.
All together, a marvelous installation in a beautiful location, made all the more impressive by the thought and care put into its creation. Congratulations to all those who’s efforts made this Peace Pole a reality!
For more information on the Peace Pole Project, please visit: https://www.peacepoleproject.org/ Photos courtesy of David Saint-Amand. |